Exhibitor bookings for the upcoming Drives & Controls Show are continuing to stream in. One of the latest to sign up is Schneider Electric which is returning with an even bigger stand than it had in 2014, as well as an application display at the front of the hall.

Other companies rebooking after appearing at the 2014 event include the panel-builder and systems integrator, Automatix, the frequency control and MEMS specialist, Jauch Quartz, the recruitment agency, Automation Experts, and the German motor-maker, Menzl Elektromotoren.

Appearing at the show for the first time is the precision motion control and electromagnetic drives specialist, PI (Physik Instrumente). Another new arrival is the electronic testing and EMC products supplier AR UK (which was recently appointed UK partner for the German manufacturer, Zes Zimmer).

IEC, the Dorset-based supplier of bearings, sealing rings, springs and other mechanical components, will be making its debut at the 2016 Drives show, as will Ex Heat Industry, which specialises in electrical heating systems.

Ringfeder Power Transmission, which has recently set up a UK operation, will be appearing on the EPTDA pavilion, promoting its portfolio, which includes shaft-hub locking devices and couplings. One of the booths on the Gambica pavilion will be occupied by the motor-maker Teco, which last year acquired the Italian gearbox and motors manufacturer, Motovario.

Another new booking for the show is Weidmüller. The company’s new UK managing director, Simon Goodwin, reserved a stand within days of taking up his new post last month.

The 2016 Drives & Controls Show is filling up fast

The Warwick-based systems integrator and machine designer, Motion Drives & Controls is returning to the show after a long absence, as is Harmonic Drive, which will be appearing in the robotics demonstration area. After skipping the 2014 event, Olsen Actuation will be returning in 2016 with its portfolio that includes Exlar rollerscrew linear actuators.

♦ The MACH manufacturing technologies exhibition, which will run alongside the Drives & Controls Show in April, is expecting more than 600 exhibitors (around 130 of which will be first-timers), more than 30,000m2 of displays, more than 6,500 tonnes of working machinery, and more than 23,000 visitors. The organisers have already filled the NEC’s Hall 5 and are optimistic that they will fill Hall 4 as well. To accommodate the increased visitor numbers, the five-day show will open at 9.30 am – half an hour earlier than the previous event in 2014.